Congress could vote on multi-billion dollar medical research bill this week

The White House also praised the bill’s attention to mental health services and treatment. On the House floor, Pallone said, “This is not a ideal bill, but after much consideration I believe the benefits outweigh my concerns and I support its passage”.

As Congress races to finalize the 21 Century Cures Act, Sen. “The greed of the pharmaceutical industry has no limit, and this bill includes numerous corporate giveaways that will make drug companies even richer…”

“We are grateful for passage of the 21st Century Cures Act and would like to commend Congressman Keating for his support of this bill”, said Michael Lauf, President and CEO of Cape Cod Healthcare.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the 21st Century Cures Act. While proponents claim that these measures will not lower safety standards, critics, including some former FDA officials and national consumer groups, disagree.

Preventive medicine. The bill cuts $3.5 billion – about 30 percent – from the Prevention and Public Health Fund established under Obamacare to promote prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, hospital acquired infections, chronic illnesses and other ailments. And while the previous bill would have provided $8.75 billion in funding for the NIH over five years, updated language released last week would provide $4.8 billion over a decade for specified projects within the agency, including President Barack Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative and cancer “moonshot” program.

In addition, President Obama is expected to sign it into law. The Food and Drug Administration would get $500 million to streamline approval processes for drugs and medical devices.

“Congress should not rush to pass this almost 1,000 page bill before there is time to thoroughly review it and understand the public health consequences”, Public Citizen said in a statement.

Originally passed by the House past year, the new version of the bill is a compromise, partly funding the research by selling some of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and siphoning off funds from the Affordable Care Act’s prevention programs.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the measure “is going to be a game-changer”, adding, “It will fundamentally transform the way that we treat and cure diseases in this country”.

No. 2 Senate Democratic leader Richard Durbin of IL said he was “totally underwhelmed” by the bill’s extra money, and said its cuts in a disease prevention fund created under Obama’s health care law to finance new medical research displayed “a warped sense of justice”.

The Cures Act would provide increased funding for health initiatives, including medical research and opioid addiction treatment.

Specifically, the bill will help progress various industry initiatives, all aiming to bring cures to diseases that afflict a significant population.

“This is good news for transparency and the public”, Grassley said in prepared remarks this week.

These are long-standing concerns for critics of the bill, who helped head off the advance of an earlier version of the legislation in the Senate a year ago.